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Chael Sonnen
"My hands are heavy, and most importantly they're very fast. I've been called the fastest white man alive. I don't work submissions. It's not that I'm trying to prove something, I'm just frankly not very good at 'em. I'm very good at getting away. I've never fought anybody, whether it was in practice or competition, who could hold me down. Even if I thought I could get a submission, I'm not laying underneath a grown man with my legs spread.. uh, on world-wide tv. Some guys might subscribe to that theory, but I'm a Republican and we don't do that." - Chael Sonnen on Brazilian jiu-jitsu. "I would prefer Anderson won because I would prefer to fight him over Vitor. Vitor Belfort is the better fighter. Vitor's never lost a fight that was standup. I'm a Vitor fan, so I should know. It's never been done by a standup guy, but it's been done by a guy that can push him and put him and pressure him and put him down, and Anderson cannot do that." - Chael about being number-one contender waiting for the Anderson-Vitor title match. "If you want to be a fighter and get in the cage and be a big deal at your local strip club, go to Showtime." -Chael Sonnen. "As far as being an employee of the UFC, I'm an employee of the UFC. When you're an employee, it's not 'What can I get out of the UFC?' It's 'What can I give to Zuffa.. and give to the company?' Dana White owes me nothing. Nothing. I owe Dana White everything I have. From the cellphone in my pocket to the vehicle that I use to get from one place to another. Uhh.. To.. to when I open up my refrigerator and there's.. there's soda... and food in there and... I owe that to Dana. They always try to pick on Dana, whether it's the media or even a disgruntled athlete. Ken Shamrock, I think, even filed a lawsuit against him after everything that Dana did for him. It was just mind-boggling, but.. If Warren Buffett wrote a book and Dana White wrote a book on business, I would read Dana White's book every time. That is one astute and sharp uhh... business mind. One of the times I was most impressed with Dana was uhh.. was three nights ago.. at a press conference at the UFC. He was tired, he was worn out, you know, it was eleven o'clock at night and I had to fight for fifteen minutes. Dana White has to fight every day. All day. So to have anything other than adoration and absolute appreciation for what he's done is just mind-boggling." - Chael Sonnen on his bromance with UFC president Dana White. ""Two fatties swinging like bums. Yawn, stretch, back to sleep." - Chael Sonnen on the fight between Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers. "This guy's no more real than the Loch Ness Monster. If he needs me to expose him, I will. But I tell ya, the guys in the back know who the tough guy is. If we walk in the back dressing room and Anderson says put on hip hop and Chael walks in and says put on country, I guarantee it's gonna be a hoedown. The guys are gonna do what I say, so... As far as him being the bully of the playground, well his fifteen minutes of fame is up." - Chael right after the fight with Marquardt. “You want me to let you in on a secret, Anderson Silva speaks perfect English. He just has such a low amount of respect for you and all the rest of the media that he pretends he doesn’t. I’ve had conversations with Anderson Silva in perfect English, and on top of that he’s so boring to listen to that he and his rocket scientist manager, Ed Soares, who is also about as exciting as watching grass grow, have decided that Ed is better on the mic than Anderson, so just let Ed do the talking.” - Chael Sonnen on middleweight champion Anderson Silva. "Mir will put the icing on the cake that (Dan) Henderson just got done making." - Chael on the second Mir-Lesnar fight. "I am on a quest," said a confident Sonnen about his bout with Marquardt. "It goes through the Octagon -- getting that 12 lb gold belt. Priority number 1 is Nate Marquardt. Nate's been through here. Nate and I spent a week training together... now this was five years ago, but those were five hard days. When I left, I kinda scratched my head and thought, 'that guy is really good.' I know I have closed the gap and done some things a lot better. The downside for me is he certainly got better in those five years as well. A lot of guys in this division think he is the number one guy. I want to be that guy. Getting the call to fight Nate is all that more flattering." "It's a tough spot for Nate," said Sonnen. "This is a fight he is supposed to win. He's ranked number two, I'm ranked number six. That means he is supposed to win. I bet he probably envy's my spot a little bit. With that said, it doesn't do me any good to go out there and have a good close match. A good tough fight. I have to beat him. When they shut that door, I will find a way to win this fight." "He’s a step in the wrong direction. Unmarketable. Not pleasing to watch and a horrible interview. He doesn’t do a whole lot (in the cage). If I wanted to stand there and look at him, he would just stand and look at me back. But if you go after him, he’ll engage. If you go to mess around with him, that’s when he’ll turn it on. And he just keeps finding a way to win." - Chael on his opponent, Yushin Okami. "Even though Mark Coleman is a bum, he wins fights. Who’s Mark Coleman’s coach? Who is Mark Coleman’s training partner? What is the name of the gym that he trains at? And don’t tell me the Hammer House. I want to know an actual building, an actual piece of real estate with a sign on it. Where does he train? Everybody has a coach. Tiger Woods has a coach. Michael Jordan had a coach. Mayweather has a coach. Mark Coleman does not have a coach. Everybody has a team. Everybody has a team backing them. Tiger Woods has a team. Kobe has a team. All the greats have a team of any sport. He doesn’t have a team! He’s his own coach, he’s his own team. He doesn’t even have a gym he belongs to. That’s just silly. How you could be in this for this long and be a one man show. On one hand (it) is remarkable. On one hand, maybe I’m looking at it wrong. Maybe I need to compliment him a little bit, but it’s just silly. That’s not what a dedicated guy does." - Chael on UFC 109 headliner Mark Coleman. "If I have to beat GSP on my way to the ring, Nate in the ring and Rashad in the parking lot after the fight, I will. Listen it can be 1 on 1, 2 on 1 or 5 on 1, Nate will need 911." - Chael on his upcoming fight with Nate Marquardt at UFC 109. "Women belong in the Kitchen, not in the cage."--Chael Sonnen